The Sisters
by RainbowxRose
Summary: Petunia Evans goes to Hogwarts when she's 11 years old and finds her own identity away from her sister. Each chapter will be one year.


**Word Count**: 2903 Words

* * *

On the day of Petunia Evans' birthday, a woman came to her door telling her and her family that her name was Minerva McGonagall and that she was her representative from Hogwarts. Jonathon and Amy Evans had wide eyes as she explained all about magic and Hogwarts and the fact that if Lily was magical then she would get her letter when she was 11 (since the Evans would know what was going on at that point). She explained about Hogwarts and what they taught and the fact that the little things the Evans' had ignored were really signs of Petunia being magical. It was all a shock. She displayed her magic by setting a fire in the fireplace and answered the many questions that they had. Afterwards, she stood up and told them that she would be back to take the Evans' to Diagon Alley at their convenience.

It was a shock to the family but it wasn't a bad one. Lily was excited for her sister (and excited at the prospect of being a witch herself) and Petunia cried tears of joy because she was i_special_/i. She couldn't help but think of the wretched boy who used to live around them. He had proclaimed that he was a wizard and so was his entire family but he had been taken from his parents before they got to know him. Petunia had laughed at him then but there was a small wonder in her mind if he had been telling the truth. Their mother explained that his parents weren't good parents and so the government had taken him.

Diagon Alley was an introduction to the magic and Petunia never stopped being thrilled. It was first to Gringotts to turn their Muggle money into wizarding money. Professor McGonagall told Petunia to play close attention to how many Galleons were in a Sickle or Sickles were in a Galleon but she could barely keep track. She could barely remember Muggle money and wizarding money looked so much more complicated.

They went to Madam Malkin's to get Petunia a robe and to Ollivander's to get her a wand. They got her books and her potion ingredients and the girls couldn't even remember all of it. It was all so much and after the professor had left, with instructions on how to get through the barrier on September 1st and how to get home, they all sat down to have ice cream in front of a shop called Florean Fortescue's.

"This is the greatest place ever!" Lily said, looking around as strawberry ice cream dripped down her chin. She had been fingering things in every shop they passed, the robes and the wands and even the things in the Apothecary although she was disgusted by most of the ingredients. "Your wand has real dragon heartstring in it!"

Petunia smiled, swallowing her bite of chocolate ice cream and patting the bag that her wand was in. It was almost more than she could take. She had always been ordinary. She got decent grades but was never the one that teachers raved about. That was Lily. Now Petunia had something special. She was special. She was a witch. But she was so scared to go alone. She hoped that Lily would be a witch just so that she would know somebody. After all, what if nobody liked her? At least Lily would. Lily had always been her friend, even when all the other little girls had teased her because she spent her lunch in the library.

"You're going to do great," Amy said, reaching out to run her fingers gently through Petunia's hair and Petunia ducked, blushing and looking around. Professor McGonagall had said that some of the people shopping right now might be her fellow students. It was strange to think that she wouldn't be going back to her old school. She hadn't liked it much, though. The little girls teasing her weren't even the worst thing about it. She wanted a fresh start at Hogwarts. "Our very special Petunia who is a witch. We're so very proud of you."

"I think we should get you something special. At the bottom of your letter it says you can get a pet. What kind of pet do you want?" Jonathon asked, leaning back in his chair and smiling with pride at the women in his life.

Petunia gasped, looking at her father. She had never gotten a reward just for being her before. She'd gotten birthday presents and Christmas presents but a present just because she was a witch? It was almost too good to be true. She nodded and smiled. "I want an owl."

center***/center

September 1st couldn't come fast enough as Lily and Petunia spent as much time together as they could. On the 1st, Petunia hugged her sister and her parents and cried because she knew that she was going to be lonely. Her and Lily have never spent more than a day apart from each other. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, grabbing the cage that held her owl (Violet to match her and her sister) and stepping onto the train. Her trunk was already properly stowed and she sat down, looking around as the train starts filling up.

"Can I sit here?"

Petunia looked up, seeing a girl standing above her. She looked nice enough and so she moved her legs so that the girl could sit down next t her. as The girl sat down, smiling and holding out her hand. "My name is Clara. Clara King. Are you a first year?" the girl, Clara, asked.

Shaking her hand, Petunia nodded. "I am. Are you too?" Petunia looked the girl up and down, noting that she was dressed quite oddly. It made her think of what Professor McGonagall had been wearing when she had come to tell her about Hogwarts. It fit in, it was just… odd. She wondered if that meant that Clara was already a witch. She didn't think that somebody who already knew magic would be a first year. It was still all so confusing to her.

"I am. I'm a Pureblood but it's okay. Our family is nice about it. You're a Muggle-born aren't you? I saw you with your family. What's it like coming from a Muggle family?" Petunia stared at Clara in awe. She recognized the words that Professor McGonagall had said but she couldn't remember at all what they meant. "Did you… not understand that?"

Petunia was embarrassed by Clara's knowledge as she shook her head. "I… don't remember what a Muggle is. Professor McGonagall said it but… I don't remember. Also, a Pureblood? What's that?"

Clara looked just as fascinated by Petunia as Petunia was by her. "A Muggle is somebody who isn't magical. So you came from a family without magic. I'm a Pureblood which means my parents are both magical. There are some Pureblood families who are mean against Muggle-born people but not our family," Clara said and it was all so matter of fact that Petunia had to smile. "Was the little girl with you your sister?"

"She was. Her name is Lily. She's my best friend," Petunia said, looking out the window and frowning as she thought about Lily and being all alone at Hogwarts. The girls were only 11 months apart and had spent so much time together in their childhood.

"I'm an only child. I'm so jealous that you have a sister. I've always wanted a sister. My mother told me that I'd make lifelong friends at Hogwarts that are just like a sister. She was in Hufflepuff but my father was in Ravenclaw. I don't really care what I'm in… Even Slytherin would be alright, I suppose."

"Oh, I remember those. Those are the houses right?" Petunia asked, trying to remember what Professor McGonagall had told her about them. There was something about loyalty and bravery and oh, it was all so confusing. Petunia was sure that she was going to be so very lost during Hogwarts and she wished, again, that Lily was here. Lily would've remembered the houses, she was sure.

"Yep, everybody gets sorted into one of them," Clara responded, leaning over and gasping as she saw Petunia's owl. "Oh, you have an owl. I'm so jealous. My parents wouldn't let me bring my owl because apparently it belongs to the family and they need to use it. They said if I do well this year then I can have one next year."

Petunia looked down at Violet and smiled, pulling the box of treats out of her bag and giving Violet an owl treat. Clara and Petunia exchanged small talk until the trolley came around and Clara bought them a bag of Jelly Slugs to share. Petunia had a small amount of pocket money but she wanted to hold onto it just in case. She had no idea what would happen at Hogwarts. Perhaps they would even make her pay for her meals although she assumed that she would've heard about that and her parents would be paying for it.

People came and went in and out of the compartments and Petunia followed Clara when she went to see if she knew anybody from around her neighborhood. Clara introduced Petunia to more people than she would ever remember and they went back to change into their robes. "So we're going to be friends now, right?" Clara asked, grinning as she closed her trunk.

"I… yes. I'd like that," Petunia responded, smiling softly. She was glad that she had already made a new friend. She was surprised that Hogwarts seemed to be much different. People just talked to her and seemed to like her without even knowing her.

center***/center

Hogwarts was hard to get adjusted to but Petunia found quickly that she loved it. She wasn't very good at magic no matter how much she practiced. It was almost like she just wasn't meant to do it but the teachers never laughed at her. They didn't compare her to anybody, even Isabelle who managed almost everything on her first try. Whenever she needed extra help they were always there for her. Clara and she had both been sorted into Hufflepuff and they had quickly become good friends. Petunia was also getting to know the other first years, in Hufflepuff and in the other classes. It was almost like she was popular and she could see why people liked it so much.

The first Saturday after they had arrived they both lounged around out in the courtyard. It was a cool day but Petunia didn't even mind. She had checked out a fascinating book from the library and she was reading as Clara worked on homework. Although Petunia wasn't that great at magic, she had a good work ethic and always finished her homework promptly. There was never any last minute rush for her like there was for so many other students.

Petunia had written her first letter to her family and Clara had helped her send it by owl. It was odd telling the owl that it was to be delivered to her family but Petunia couldn't help but feel the spark of warmth that she always felt when she did something magical. There was something special about her. It was something that not everybody did. She didn't know if she would ever really get over it. It always made her feel special and she had been longing to feel special her entire life.

Each day that passed made Petunia feel even more special. The teachers gave her house points, not because she was brilliant but because she was sweet, likeable and always showed her manners. She did her homework daily and never turned in an assignment late. Clara was the more irresponsible of the pair but Petunia often tried to get her to do homework. When December came around, Petunia didn't even want to go home. It was only the thought of not seeing her parents and sister for however many more months that caused her to go home.

When she got off the train, she smiled as Lily rushed at her, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Lily was talking a mile a minute before Petunia could even take a breath. "How is it? Did you make friends? Did you miss me? Do you do magic? How is it? Is it amazing? What are the teachers like? Is it hard?"

Jonathon laughed, resting his hand on Lily's shoulder so that Lily would take a breath. "Let Petunia get home and then she can tell us all about it."

Petunia turned to wave goodbye to Clara, telling her that she'd see her when they head back and they went home. They made small talk during the car ride because Amy and Jonathon told her that they wanted to hear the entire story. She heard about Lily's school but she couldn't wait to get home and tell them all about it. The car ride was much too long.

When they got home, Petunia told them as much as she could about Hogwarts. She told them exactly how many house points that she had earned Hufflepuff in the entire time that she had been in the school, she enjoyed keeping track, and said that she was learning little things but would learn more magic once she got older. Lily was in awe and she crossed her fingers, hoping that she'd be going to Hogwarts someday. Petunia crossed her fingers with her but there was a small part of her that wondered if she wanted Lily there.

Originally, she had wanted Lily there so that Lily could be her friend but now Petunia had her own identity. She had Clara and a bunch of other people she knew. She knew her way around Hogwarts and what the different houses were. She loved Hogwarts. But she wasn't sure if everybody would love her so much once Lily came around and was the prized child again. She just hoped that that wouldn't happen. She didn't have high hopes, though. If her parents could do it then she didn't have much faith in her teachers, no matter how much she liked them now.

Petunia was glad to get back to Hogwarts. It felt more like home now. She couldn't really describe how but it was home. There was something about such a wonderful place that called to Petunia. It was a place where she could be herself. She didn't have to try to live up to her parent's expectations. She didn't get perfect marks but she tried her best and that was always good enough for the professors. They encouraged her.

School was boring but in the best way possible. Her and Clara were close and Petunia knew that Clara's mom was right. They were going to be best friends forever. The older students spread rumors about something terrible coming but Clara told Petunia that Dumbledore was the most powerful wizard ever and so Petunia didn't worry about it. She sent her parents and sister letters about how wonderful her first year was and her and Clara promised to keep in touch over the summer. She passed all of her classes and her teachers all remarked on what a good student she was. Petunia beamed over the praise.

The ride from Hogwarts was bittersweet to Petunia. On one hand, she was glad that she was going to see Lily again for a few months but she was going to miss Hogwarts. She was going to miss doing magic and having the constant praise of her teachers. After the shock had worn off, Amy and Jonathon had gone back to comparing Petunia to Lily and Petunia hated it. It took everything in her not to take it out on Lily but Lily was still her sister, even if Clara had taken her spot as best friend.

Getting off the Hogwarts Express was sad and Petunia hugged Clara for an extra long time. "We'll owl each other all the time," Clara promised, hugging Petunia tight. "I'll be able to use the family owl."

"I'll owl you a lot. And maybe you can come visit. Or I can come visit you. I'll talk to my parents."

"And I'll talk to my parents," Clara said, pulling away and grinning and waving at Petunia's family. Lily waved back but her parents just observed them. Clara rolled her eyes playfully at Petunia and Petunia smiled, heading towards her family.

On the car ride, Petunia and Lily whispered back and forth and Petunia told Lily all about the wonderful things. Lily's eyes were wide and Petunia smiled. She knew that Lily would never try to steal the preciousness of the magic. She was excited for the summer with Lily and, if Lily got her letter, she would be excited for Hogwarts with her. Petunia gave Lily a tight hug, surprising Lily but Lily immediately hugged her back. "I'm so glad you're my sister," Petunia whispered.

Lily smiled, hugging Petunia back tight. "I'm really glad you're my sister too. You're the best sister ever." Petunia didn't know what she'd do if she ever lost Lily as a sister. Lily and her were best sisters and they were really good friends. Petunia never wanted that to change.


End file.
